A Flash of a Storm
by Sixteen Vanilla Beans
Summary: Akane forgot something at work and goes late at night to retrieve it, only to find Ginoza working really late. She then tries to persuade him to go home and to stop overworking himself. Bad summary, originally for the psycho pass secret santa event on tumblr. Rated T for the occasional swear word.


Akane couldn't believe that she had forgotten her holo compact at work. She was sure it was in her purse when she left, but alas, when she got home she realized it wasn't. She wasn't particularly happy that she had to go back and get it, especially at ten o'clock at night; but she couldn't even put on her suit in the morning without it. She pulled into the parking lot of the MWPSB and promptly cut the engine. She figured it would only take her about three or four minutes and she'll be on her way home again.

While walking toward the building, she found it odd that a light in Unit One's headquarters was on. '_That's strange...' _Akane thought. _'Mr. Kougami and the other enforcers are all supposed to be in their living quarters by now. The only units that are supposed to be here are twelve and fourteen!' _

She opened the doors of the building and quickly made her way down the hallway and turned the corner to find herself in the office of Unit One.

"...Mr. Ginoza?" He looked up, he had a pen in his hand and paper's all around him. He blinked twice before he spoke.

"Tsunemori. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Akane furrowed her eyebrows. "Your shift ended hours ago."

"I've just been..." Ginoza closed his eyes, "working on this report that's due next week. That's all."

Akane raised her eyebrows. "Next week? Why are you staying late to finish it now? I haven't even started mine yet." Once she said that, she received a glare from Ginoza, which she promptly ignored to scan the desks around her for her holo compact.

"Hey, Mr. Ginoza, do you usually stay this late?" Both of their shifts ended at the same time, but Akane never paid attention to whether he left the same time as her. She hoped he didn't do this on a regular basis; he probably wasn't even getting paid for his extra time and he had his own life too, didn't he?

"...Mr. Ginoza?" She repeated when he didn't answer.

"Not usually." She could tell by the tone of his voice and the briskness of the sentence that he wanted her to stop bothering him and leave. Akane found her compact and grabbed it. She then proceeded to walk over to Ginoza.

"How much longer are you planning on staying here?" Akane asked, trying to peek over his shoulder to see how he had written.

"I'll leave when I finish this," he replied. He covered the paper with his arms and looked up at her. "Which is never going to happen if you keep bothering me."

Akane sighed. He had written a full page. Wasn't that enough for today? Especially if he had a whole extra week to complete it? Akane sure thought so. Either Ginoza was the type who liked to finish everything really early, or he just didn't know when to stop.

"Mr. Ginoza you look tired." Which wasn't a lie, when he looked up at her his eyes seemed slightly unfocused. She suddenly remembered something she saw on the news earlier. There apparently was supposed to be a thunder storm later in the night. "Hey, do you know there's supposed to be a thunder storm later?" she repeated what she heard on the news. "Don't you want to get home before that?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "A thunder storm," Ginoza said flatly. "Really."

"Yep! Why don't you finish that tomorrow morning?" Akane asked with a hopeful tone of voice. She hoped he'll listen to her and go home. She knew it was really none of her business what he did in his life, but she didn't think it was good for him to stay this late without a reason.

Ginoza looked up thoughtfully and picked up his jacket that was slung across his chair. "Alright. I suppose I can come here earlier tomorrow to finish this."

Akane's heart sunk. "That's not what I-"

"Tsunemori, around what time is the thunder supposed to start?" Ginoza asked while searching through his mass of keys. He found the one he was looking for and walked over to the door.

"Um, eleven o'clock? I'm not really sure..." She looked down at the floor, trying to remember what the news report had said. Was it eleven or was it closer to twelve? She wasn't really sure.

"Well, it's best to get home either way," Ginoza replied. He opened the door and looked at Akane expectedly, keys in hand.

"O-oh, sorry!" Akane smiled awkwardly and quickly walked through the door and made her way down the hallway. Soon enough she heard Ginoza's footsteps behind her. She made her way to the front and paused to look out the window. Water droplets decorated the glass and a light pitter patter could be heard.

"It's already starting to rain," Akane noted. She looked behind her at Ginoza, he stared at her back, unimpressed. She sighed and opened the door, making sure to old it behind her.

_'That was pretty easy.' _Akane thought to herself while walking to her car. '_I expected him to argue back... He's always pretty stubborn. It doesn't really matter I guess.' _She inserted the key into the car lock, quickly turning it. _'Maybe he's afraid of thunder...?' _Akane half chuckled to herself as she imagined the man cowering from the noise, and immedietely dismissed the thought. _'As if he'd be afraid of that.'_

She shrugged herself into the car and shut the door. She smoothed down her damp hair and looked to her left to find Ginoza trying to start up his car. She watched for a few seconds, his car repeating the same sound over and over again. When it was clear that his car wasn't going to start any time soon, she got out of her car and made her way over to his.

Akane rapped her knuckles against the window of his car; he looked up at her and she could tell before he even opened the door that he was pissed off.

"What is it?" He asked, exasperation clearly mixed in with his voice.

"Are you having problems with your car, Mr. Ginoza?"

"Clearly." He replied briskly before he stepped out of his car and closed the door.

"Is this car old?" Akane asked, rubbing her hand over the wet, but shiny, roof of the car. It sure didn't _look _old.

"No. It's been doing this for a while now. I've tried everything but nothing seems to fix the damn thing."

"Have you tried calling a mechanic?" She asked, quickly realizing how dumb the question was once it was said out loud.

He peered at her from the corners of his eyes. "I did say I tried everything, didn't I?"

"Yes, well...I..." Akane trailed off. She decided it was best to change the subject. "So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to call someone to tow your car?"

"No, I don't have the time for that right now." Didn't have time? He wanted to work for who knows how long, and now he doesn't have time? Confusing. "I suppose," Ginoza continued, slipping his hands into his pockets "I'll have to walk."

"Huh? W-Wait!"

Ginoza paused mid-stride, not even bothering to turn around. "Yes?"

"It's nighttime and it's raining. I'll drive you to your apartment," Akane said and turned back to walk to her car.

"...You will?"

"Of course I will," She said, pausing to turn around and face him. "Do you really think I'll let you walk home in the rain?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe you thought it was OK for you to walk this far, Mr. Ginoza."

"Mhm."

Akane sighed. This has been one awkward car ride. Akane tried to make small talk but Ginoza remained mostly silent; only nodding or making an occasional sound to let her know that he was listening. When she entered his apartment complex into her car's system, it told her it would take approximately 37 minutes to get there. Only eight minutes had passed and it already felt like half an hour.

Akane wasn't sure what kind of music he liked so she turned it off. An uneasy silence filled the car and she was desperate to talk about anything.

She turned to look at him for a second and saw that his eyes were closed, his head resting on his hand.

"...Mr. Ginoza?" Akane half whispered.

"What is it?" Ginoza mumbled, opening his eyes and turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you not like thunder or something? You were determined to stay and finish your report, but when I mentioned thunder you were all set to leave. Why is that?" She knew it wasn't any of her business, but she was curious and it wasn't like there was any harm in asking, right?

Ginoza remained silent for a long moment before answering. "My dog... Dime... he's terrified of thunder. That's all."

Akane raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't aware you had a dog. What kind of dog is he?"

"A Siberian husky," Ginoza replied. He shifted his gaze to look out the window. The rain was really starting to pour down now. The wipers were on the highest setting, but Akane still had trouble seeing. She was happy she didn't let Ginoza walk, he certainly would've been soaked to the bone by now.

"Is he the kind to destroy the house when there's thunder?" Akane asked. She decided to try and keep the conversation going as she really didn't want another long awkward silence.

Ginoza nodded. "Ron, the dog I had before Dime, he didn't pay the thunder much attention, but he was a fairly old dog. Dime's still considered a pup. I mean, think about it. A dog's hearing is about four times that of a human; it's no wonder thunder freaks him out."

"I never had a dog, or any pets for that matter," Akane confessed, rubbing her forehead. "My Grandmother had a pet bunny though. She was so cute! I used to love to feed her and play with her when I was a kid. But I was the one who found her dead in her cage when I was seven." Akane took a deep breath before she continued. "It really freaked me out. My Grandmother told me that she'll get a new bunny but I didn't want her to do that. It just wouldn't have been the same, y'know? I just didn't want her to be replaced, it just wouldn't have been fair."

"I know what you mean," Ginoza said. He looked at the time and sighed at what the clock displayed. "I found Ron on the floor when I came home from work one day. In the beginning I didn't want a new dog. He was with me for years and then... he wasn't. But it was very lonely at home and I just missed having a dog too much."

Akane nodded. She was only a couple of blocks away from Ginoza's apartment complex when lightning flashed in the sky and thunder began to rumble. The weatherman was right again, as usual.

Ginoza mumbled something under his breath before talking louder. "I was hoping to get home before the thunder started."

"We're almost there Mr. Ginoza. It'll be about two or three or more minutes. I bet you're glad you're not walking right now."

Ginoza chuckled lightly, which made Akane smile. They drove in silence for the rest of the ride, but Akane didn't find it as awkward as before.

"Is this your apartment complex, Mr. Ginoza?" Akane asked when she pulled up to what she thought was the right place, but the rain was making it hard to see.

"Yes. Thank you for the ride, Tsunemori."

"It wasn't a problem," Akane smiled earnestly at him. "I'll be more than happy to give you another ride if you need it."

Another loud boom of thunder erupted throughout the sky, the storm was certainly getting closer. Akane hoped there wouldn't be any traffic and she could get home as soon as possible, she hated driving during a storm.

"I better go," Ginoza said when he heard the thunder. He started opening the door when Akane called out to him.

"Wait, are you still going to work early tomorrow morning?"

"Hm?" He looked back at her, slightly confused. He stared at her for a short moment before he realized what she was talking about. "Oh. No I don't think I am. The report can wait a bit. It's probably best that I take Dime on a long walk tomorrow, I haven't done that for a while as I've been too busy with work. " Ginoza opened the door all the way. "Well, see you tomorrow, Tsunemori."

"Yeah. Bye, Mr. Ginoza!"

He closed the door and Akane watched him walk to his apartment complex. He looked kind of lonely, but she was happy that he had a dog to keep him company, as no one deserved to be alone.

* * *

_I originally wasn't going to publish this on this site, but decided to so everyone knows that I'm not dead xD. Anyway, since I haven't written anything in a long time, I'm really hoping for some constructive criticism, as I would like to get better at writing. I want to know if anyone found this piece boring and if everyone was in character, since I tried but I don't know..._

_This fic was supposed to be GinAka, since that's what the person wanted, but I just can't develop a relationship like that in a oneshot, unless it was really long, or the pairing was already canon._

_Please let me know what you thought :)_


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